Gm Strike Threatens Automaker’s Suppliers

The pain from a strike at two General Motors Corp. brake plants was being felt Thursday by a growing number of smaller companies that depend on the automaker for their business.

“It’s just awful difficult that when they shut down, the little guy goes down also,” said Jim Domin, general manager of Jamestown Industries Inc., which supplies door panels and carpeting to GM’s nearby truck assembly plant.

When the strike closed down the GM plant last Saturday, it also idled the 60 production workers at Jamestown Industries in Moraine, a suburb of Dayton.

Meanwhile, no negotiations between the company and United Auto Workers Local 696 were held Thursday, and GM spokesman Jim Hagedon said no new talks were scheduled. The two sides held informal talks Wednesday.